Waiting for Our Forever
by MasterMind13
Summary: On New Year's Eve, Jack Frost is about to spend it alone, until he finds someone in the forest. Conversation turns to a rush of unexpected romance. Only, neither knew they felt the same about the other. Can the new year be spent with Jack Frost and his beloved? FrostedNature. Oneshot.


**And it's here, my last story for 2019! Yeah! XD *does a silly dance* **

**I wanted this story to be the best, better than all the other fics I've published. *wipes brow* Phew. Man, I seriously started working on it December 1st; that's how dedicated I was. For all the times I've had, for all the hopes and the dreams. The downs and the lows. I am really grateful to have come this far. **

**I would love to thank darkgirl11 for all her kindness, her wild ideas and just for being there. She is truly one of a kind. Thank you, Brittany. ^_^ And thanks to all of you who I've forgotten to mention. **

* * *

Jack Frost flew through the forest outside the city of Burgess. The moon above him shone brightly, shadows of the trees painted on the sparkling white snow. His blue eyes scanned the snowy landscape, catching every detail in sight. He was close to his pond, might as well stop once he arrives.

Soon enough he saw the pond and came down for a landing. The snow crunching beneath his bare feet, Jack walked up to the pond, watching the moon reflected on its surface. This was the place where he died and became a Guardian. Where he became Jack Frost. Where his new life began.

A lot of thoughts were boiling up in his head.

He began his walk. On the way, he absentmindedly tapped his staff on the bark of each tree he passed. One touch created a frosty design, which was always like a filigree look. Jack breathed a sigh of tedium. He stopped for a moment. Looking down at the snow he got an idea. Using his staff, he drew what appears to be like a stag. Just like he did with Jamie, he brought the snow stag to life. The transparent blue stag was the same size of a real stag, and Jack watched it walk along mindlessly. Soon it disappeared into blue sparkles, dissolving back into snow.

Jack chuckled and carried on with his walk. His destination: the Oak of Sorrows. Today wasn't all that bad. It was winter, his season. The snow was piling, perfect for snow days and building snowmen. Sledding and snowboarding. He went to see Jamie and his sister Sophie earlier in the day. The two had spent the day throwing snowballs and making snow angels. Jamie talked Jack's ear off about his winter break and how he wished it would last longer. Jack reminded how important school was and cheered him up by telling him how he wished he could go to school and have the fun that teenagers have. This surprised Jamie, seeing how Jack was the Guardian of Fun. But Jack also informed how having fun was important, work was also fun it its own way.

Aside from talking about school and snow angels with Jamie, Jack had also asked him an important question. Specifically on girls and how to talk to them. This rapt Jamie into conversation and gave the winter spirit all that he had.

"Just talk to her about how you feel." Jamie had said.

"Ngn, I don't know what to say." Jack answered. "She's so beautiful. So perfect. And I'm...I'm..."

"Obnoxious?" Jamie threw in. "Bumbling? Careless?"

"Yeah, pretty much those things."

Jack had to hand it to him. He was so clever than Jack let on. But then remembered what Jamie told him before leaving.

"Look, Jack, just be yourself and just tell her. The worst she can do is say no."

_He's got that right._ Jack thought, inhaling a deep breath of cold air. He was almost to the Oak of Sorrows and then he could let it absorb all his sadness.

The Oak of Sorrows was a great tree in the forest, whose trunk and bark resembled a face. A great gaping hole resembled a mouth. But that was not the only thing about the tree. The Nods, warrior fairies, lived within the tree and acted as Jack's eyes and ears throughout the world. The Nods mounted birds and with their trumpets they could sound the call of action when Jack's interference was needed. Right now, the Nod's were all turning in for the night, much like he should be. But he was too awake to sleep.

He saw the great oak up ahead, excitement boiling in him, when a silhouette caught his attention. Cautiously he approached the tree, holding up his staff, ready to attack. Whoever it was this person was tall. The stranger only stood, still as a statue. Jack waited for the person to move. Upon closer inspection, he calmed down and lowered his staff. He realized it was only Mother Nature.

"It's just her," said Jack.

Once she felt his presence, she turned around, raven hair flying back like a banner. Her gold eyes shimmered like coins, throwing the light back. Her dark green gown reached the forest floor.

"Hello, Jack," she said, voice warm like sunshine and smooth as honey.

"Hi, Emily," retorted Jack. Emily being Mother Nature's real name. The woman didn't mind it, just like she didn't mind being Pitch Black's daughter. Jack and the other Guardians knew about this, but they didn't see her as anything other than an ally. She wasn't their enemy, so they had nothing to fear. But there was a small schism between them, her father being banished and all.

"What brings you here?," was Jack's next question.

"I was hoping to find you here," replied Emily Jane.

"Well, I'm here," said Jack, "what's on your mind?"

Emily Jane sat on the roots of the great oak tree. Jack walked over to her side and sat next to her. He laid his staff beside him.

"It's almost the new year," said Emily Jane.

"Yeah, the year went fast, didn't it?," commented Jack.

"Indeed."

A moment of quiet stretched between them. Jack kept his eyes on the moon, anywhere to stop from staring at Mother Nature so much. If he were human his heart would be pumping like a wild mare. His face would be blushing hard, and he'd probably feel sweaty palms. She was here with him, and Jack wished he were invisible.

"So, uh," uttered Jack, as a conversation starter, "y-you know New Year's resolutions?"

The raven-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Well, everyone in the world makes a resolution," said Jack. "Ever thought of making one?"

"Such as?," quipped Emily Jane.

The winter spirit didn't have a clue. He looked around the forest around him, catching every thing in sight from the bare trees to the animal tracks in the snow.

"Well, such as...," muttered Jack, eyes darting from left to right, "...spending more time with the other Guardians?"

Mother Nature chuckled. "I'm far too busy for that."

"Oh c'mon," groused Jack, crossing his arms, "even _you_ need to take a break from weather patrol."

"Perhaps _you_ should set a New Year's resolution to take your responsibilities more seriously," snapped Emily Jane.

"Touché."

Jack turned away, head spinning with a whirlwind of thoughts. _Okay, she's here. You got her right where you want her. Just tell her._

He prepared to say something when Emily Jane spoke up.

"I love watching the stars," she said, a smile on her face. "They're so lovely, aren't they?"

Jack gazed up at the sky before turning to look at Emily Jane. "Oh, yeah, definitely," he replied. "Like diamonds on velvet."

"Precisely what I was thinking."

A cold wind blew through, caused by Emily's gust of breath. The winter spirit smiled, happy to see Emily enjoying something she likes. There were so many things he'd love to talk about, but the most important one was the one that's been nagging at him.

_Maybe I should just hint it_, thought Jack, doubtful.

"So, um, any guys out there grab you interest?"

Mother Nature turned to him, eyebrow quirked.

_Say anything! Just say anything._

"Uh, well," stuttered Jack, "just thinking out loud here. I don't know if you've ever been with anyone a long time ago."

The tall woman let out a laugh. "I'm Mother Nature. I don't have time for frivolous romances."

The winter spirit hunched his shoulders. He grabbed his staff and poked at the snow, wordlessly making doodles.

Mother Nature looked to the sky. "See there?" She pointed to a part of the sky only she recognized. Jack Frost gazed from his brooding and looked in the same direction. He spotted a cluster of stars amassed to look like a figure holding a shield.

"That's Orion," said Emily Jane. "My constellation home. Where I used to live. Back when..."

Jack caught a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. He patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay," he said. He normally expected her to snap back at him but this time she didn't have the gull to retort anything. She sighed and rested her chin on her knees.

"Do you ever wish," she muttered, "you could take something back?"

"There are a lot of things I wish I never did," replied Jack, which was no exaggeration. Nonetheless, the raven-haired woman breathed a sigh.

"Well, I wish I could turn back time and stop my father from ever going out to stop those Dream Pirates." This was clearly a rehearsed declaration, but she was genuinely sorrowful.

Jack ran a hand through his white hair, looking down at the snow-covered ground. Confessing his love to her could wait, he was going to listen to this. He had never known Mother Nature's past life and he was intrigued in hearing the whole story.

"I would spend nights sneaking out of my room to sail on my schooner," lilted Emily Jane, keeping her eyes to the sky. "I just loved sailing on the asteroids, and playing with the star fish. Oh, they were just these adorable little fishes, they had these really bright gold scales." Her eyes lit up, like they had just opened up for the first time. For a second Jack thought she looked livelier.

"Those must've been some great times," said Jack. "And was Pitch...really?"

Emily Jane snapped her head to him. The mention of that name left her a little bewildered, but it passed and she answered his question.

"A great hero?" She bit her lip. "Yes."

"What was he like back then?" He tried not to let his curiosity show, but he was sure Emily Jane could pick up on it.

"He was a noble man," said Emily Jane, "so gallant, so brave. I got my love of sailing from him. I would stand next to him on the helm of our family ship and feel the wind through my hair. And mother by his side, we were the image of the perfect family." She shifted position and almost brushed against Jack.

_I never would've thought in a million years Pitch used to be a noble hero._ Jack felt a twinge of guilt twist his insides to knots. _Toothiana said we were all someone before we were chosen. I was a poor villager, with a little sister and a loving mother. I loved them and I love Jaime and Sophie. And all his little friends._

He turned to Emily Jane, who looked like she was spent from all his talking.

_She was someone before she became Mother Nature. Same goes for Pitch, I guess. But did he _choose_ to be Nightmare King? I don't believe it was that way._

"Emily Jane," said Jack, the latter turning to him in astonishment; no one called her by her real name. "About what you asked, about changing the past. While we can't change the past, but you can start where you left off and begin a new ending."

Mother Nature looked at him kind of funnily. "I kind of did, Jack," she said. "when I met Sandy."

"Right, you and Sandy go way back," commented Jack. "_Way_, way back."

"I get it," she rasped. "He was the first creature to show me any kindness when no one else did."

"Were you all alone for your entire childhood?"

"Well, no," she admitted, "I lived with this constellation, Typhan. He was a former hero to the Golden Age, but he was blind. I became his eyes and he taught me to how to harness the natural elements. Even though he was good company, I did not see him as a father." She closed her eyes. "When a Golden Age ship was passing through I _had_ had enough. Enough of waiting and hoping only to be let down. So I unleashed my fury onto that ship. Typhan tried to stop me, but I had become just as strong as him. I shouted at him that he wasn't my father...so he imprisoned me inside a shooting star."

"Damn," said Jack, eyebrows raised. Mother Nature opened her, smirking slightly.

"I spent an unknown amount of time in that star," she continued, "then Sandy came along and we traveled the cosmos together. We defeated Dream Pirate after Dream Pirate. Then we heard news that the Dream Pirates were imprisoned and that my father—Kozmotis Pitchiner—was victorious in his battle."

_Kozmotis? That's quite a name_, thought Jack.

"I started flying at full speed, and almost scraped against a planet," continued Mother Nature, "and Sandy heard the wishes from that planet. Wishes that wanted me gone, and Sandy told me I was no better than a Dream Pirate. And that was when I stopped." A sting pierced her chest where her heart should be. The memory still fresh in her head. "I broke down and told him everything about me. He offered to help me find my father, and I accepted. We traveled to the constellation Zeus. Upon arrival, we caught up with another Dream Pirate ship and at the helm, my father. No longer was he Kozmotis Pitchiner, valiant hero of the Golden Age, he was Pitch Black, Nightmare King."

Jack didn't even show fear. It was heartbreak.

"He harpooned the star I was in, and he sent it flying towards this very planet," said Emily Jane. "I was freed and the star became an island, the very home Sandy resides in to this day."

"Wow." Jack's eyebrows raised in astonishment. Mother Nature turned away, although he couldn't see her face, he was sure she was about to shed tears. Or perhaps trying her best not to.

"I've spent countless eons here," uttered Emily Jane, turning around, brushing snow off her gown. "I've seen darkness and suffering, and yet I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places." She turned to the night in front of her.

The winter spirit crept closer to the nature queen, catching sight of the twinkling stars. Looking at the moon, he knew full well that Manny was watching them. Three hundred years spent in silence, and Jack figured out on his own who he was. The Man in the Moon was a mysterious creature, and yet a mystical being at best. He was a good friend to him and the other Guardians. If Manny had told Jack who he was suppose to be, would he have been happier? Perhaps he would've been.

"Listen," he spoke, "I know you've had a hard life, but that doesn't mean you're destined to live a bad life because of it." He clapped her on the shoulder. "You also don't have to be closed-off like this. You also don't have to be alone."

Mother Nature mulled over his words. She reflected on things past and what she picked up to this point.

"It's like I told Sandy all those years ago," she said, looking at the ground. "People are often... confused. They want what they don't need, or can't use, or won't ever make them whole."

Jack offered a sad smile.

"Then came the lesson on wishes," she said, turning to look at Jack. "I finally came to realize the difference between wishes that could be granted and which ones couldn't."

"And what was that?"

"That all wishes are the same. That whether they wish for this, that or the other, they are really wishing for happiness."

"And what would make _you_ happy?," quipped Jack.

Mother Nature seemed she couldn't find her voice. She'd gone through with this with Sandy, and it was a hard thing to get out. It seemed she was still trying to figure that out, even after all this time.

"I don't know, really," she answered. "It appears I'm still searching for something." She gazed over at the forest surrounding her and the frost spirit. "I don't know what that is."

"Then," said Jack, straightening, "let me ease your mind."

Emily Jane quirked a brow.

"You see," he began, "I kind of have something to say."

The raven-haired woman motioned for him to speak.

"I," he said. "I've spent three hundred years alone. No child saw me. Even though the other spirits could see me I still felt alone." Jack paused. He stood up, grabbed his staff, and sauntered off. Mother Nature, curious, rose to her feet and followed him.

"What?," quoth Mother Nature. She caught up to him before he could continue on. Luckily, Jack stopped to gather his wits. Standing over him, she peeked over over his shoulder, brow furrowed. She waited.

"I...," uttered Jack Frost, grip tightening on his staff. "I... I'm in love with you."

"Pardon?" Emily Jane stared.

"I...I love you!," blurted Jack. He hoisted his staff and shot a blast of ice, sending them flying into the wind. He let out a much needed breath.

Emily Jane's eyes darted to the ground and back.

Turning around, Jack continued his spiel. "And I know you might not feel same way, but believe me"—he stopped to wrack his brains—"I..I do love you, Emily. More than anything. I've spent half of my life pining over you. Wondering if you felt the same, wondering whether you were already taken." He fiddled with his staff, tapping once or twice on the snowy ground. "If you are, then I'm happy for you," he forced out, "but if you're not..." He shook his head, walking away.

"Jack," spoke Mother Nature. The winter spirit turned around, a hopeful, yet downcast look on his face.

"I," she repeated, "I don't know what to say."

_You could say that you don't feel the same and save us both the trouble._

"I didn't expect you to say that," said Emily Jane.

Jack Frost nodded understandingly.

"And I'll bet you never expected me to say that I feel the same way."

Jack's eyes widened. "W-Wait," he stammered, "w-what—?" It was obvious from his shocked look that he couldn't process what he just heard.

"I love you, Jack," said Emily Jane. "I always have. You are just so fun to be around, and although I may not say it, I do like being in your company. I love you because you can get me to smile."

Jack looked as though he was hearing a lie. But the sincerity in her voice let him know that everything she said was honest.

Suddenly, a shot rang out. Emily Jane and Jack glanced up at the sky, seeing a series of incandescent lights. Fireworks. The new year has finally come.

"Wow," said Jack.

"It's definitely the new year," said Emily Jane.

"Yeah."

Jack quickly pecked Emily's cheek. The tall woman looked back at him with a sly smile.

"You missed," she said.

"Did I?"

Emily chuckled. She leaned close and she kissed Jack. The frost spirit dropped his staff from the intensity he was feeling. He had daydreamed about kissing Emily Jane and he still felt like he was in one of them. By the time she pulled away, Jack knew he wasn't dreaming.

The two stood in the snowy clearing. For that moment it was just them, the forest, stars and the moon.

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**Yeah, I ship FrostedNature. I used some information from the book to mix with the movie. I don't follow canon 100% of the time. This is _my_ fanfiction after all. My fanfic, my rules. Also, my headcanon, my rules. **


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